In this guide: The short answer · Software without hardware · Laptop surfaces and wings · Standalone consoles · Comparable tiers table · How universes are counted · Networking and timecode · Visualisers · Training and support · Which to learn and buy into · Popular picks · FAQ

ChamSys and Avolites both build their whole range of lighting consoles around a single piece of software: MagicQ for ChamSys and Titan for Avolites. A show file and the skills to drive it carry up and down each range. So the real choice is which software you invest your time in, and that decides which hardware ladder you climb.

This guide compares the two side by side. It does not repeat the model-by-model detail in our ChamSys MagicQ range guide and Avolites Titan console guide, and if cues, palettes and playbacks are new to you, start with lighting desk basics.

The short answer

• Neither is a wrong choice. Both are full professional systems with a laptop entry point, compact desks, large-format consoles and flagships. Look at what the venues, hire companies and programmers you work with already use, then at which workflow suits you.
• Learning for nothing: MagicQ PC is a free download for Windows, macOS and Linux, and ChamSys says it outputs 64 universes of Art-Net/sACN with programming and playback fully enabled and no hardware connected. Titan PC Suite runs on Windows 10 and 11, and Avolites says the Titan Simulator needs Avolites hardware connected over USB: an Editor AvoKey, T1, T2, T3 or Mobile.
• Universes are counted differently. ChamSys quotes a number per product, from 1 on a QuickQ 10 to 400 on an MQ500M+. Avolites gives each desk an onboard figure (8 to 32) and, on most desks, a system limit of 64 reached by adding TitanNet Processors.
• Simple operators: ChamSys has a separate, simplified QuickQ range whose shows load onto MagicQ. Avolites keeps Titan from the smallest USB interface upwards.

Software: what each maker lets you do without a console

This is the biggest practical difference for anyone learning.

ChamSys MagicQ PC

ChamSys describes MagicQ PC as free on Windows, Mac and Linux with 64 universes of output fully enabled over Art-Net, sACN and Pathport. With nothing connected it runs in what ChamSys calls Demo Mode, and the manual states that the restrictions “do not affect show programming or playback”. What hardware adds is a set of remote and show-control features, sorted into Core and Unlocked levels: timecode, MIDI and OSC control, audio input, multi-programming and remote control from other MagicQ systems all need the Unlocked level. Any of the Connect surfaces or a Compact Wing gives that, as do the ChamSys GeNetix GN5 and GN10 nodes over the network, subject to conditions set out in the MagicQ manual. The full breakdown is in our MagicQ range guide.

Avolites Titan PC Suite

Titan PC Suite installs Titan Mobile, Titan Simulator and Titan Go, and Avolites supports it on Windows 10 and 11 only, not Boot Camp or virtual machines. The current Avolites manual says Avolites hardware must be connected by USB to run Titan Simulator. With it you get the full console software on screen, and DMX on all universes over Art-Net or sACN, but every so often random values are sent to all outputs as a “spoiler”. That makes it a programming tool, not a way to run a show.

To run a show from a laptop you need output without spoilers. Avolites lists these routes:

• An Editor AvoKey running Titan Go: one universe over Art-Net or sACN, no spoilers.
• The T1 (one universe, AvoKey included) or T2 (two universes, plus an audio/LTC input and USB MIDI). Both output from their XLRs or over Ethernet.
• The T1+ and T2+, which Avolites lists as 1,024 and 2,048 DMX channels within Titan, with one or two physical DMX ports. Each can instead unlock Avolites’ Prism media software, with one or two display outputs.
• The plug-in A1+, A2+ and A3+ AvoKeys, which Avolites lists as unlocking 1,024, 2,048 and 4,096 DMX channels within Titan (or one to three Prism display outputs), to preprogram or run a show on a Windows computer. They have no DMX ports of their own.
• The T3, which outputs up to 16 universes from the host computer.

Your laptop matters too. For MagicQ, any of the three operating systems will do. For Titan it must run Windows natively, so a Mac user is choosing between MagicQ, a separate Windows machine or a hardware console.

Laptop surfaces and playback wings

Both makers sell USB hardware that turns a laptop into a working desk. They are built on different ideas: a ChamSys Connect mainly adds physical control and the full unlock, while the smaller Avolites interfaces are what give Titan its clean output.

• ChamSys: the Compact Mini Connect (10 playbacks, one RDM DMX output, USB-C powered), the Compact Connect (10 playbacks, 8 attribute encoders, two RDM DMX outputs) and the Stadium Connect (10 motorised fader and 10 encoder playbacks, four DMX outputs, MIDI and LTC in/out). All three list 64 universes, the same as the free software.
• Avolites: T1, T2, T1+ and T2+ are small DMX interfaces without faders. The T3 adds 10 playback faders, four isolated DMX outputs and an LTC input, with up to 16 universes from the host computer. Avolites sells optional licences that raise its system limit to 32 or 64 universes, though onboard processing stays at 16 and extra universes need TitanNet Processors.

For extra faders, ChamSys has the Compact Wing (20 playbacks, 10 fader and 10 executor, with a colour touchscreen, up to two per system), also sold in a Compact Connect and Wing bundle. Avolites has three 20-fader wings: the Titan Mobile Wing (with 30 executors, compatible with all Titan consoles except T1), the T3 Wing (works with a T3, T2 or PC; also in a T3 and T3 Wing bundle) and the D3 Wing, styled to match the D3 consoles.

Standalone consoles

A console runs the software itself, so it boots without a laptop. Here are the models we stock, smallest first, with each maker’s own headline figures.

ChamSys MagicQ

• MQ50: 8 universes, 10 playbacks, 8 encoders, 10.1-inch multi-touch screen, four RDM DMX outputs. No timecode input.
• MQ70: 24 universes (expandable to 48), the same surface layout as the MQ50, plus three network ports, LTC input and an inbuilt UPS.
• MQ250M Stadium: 64 universes (expandable to 128), 10 motorised fader and 10 encoder playbacks, 15-inch touchscreen, four DMX and four network ports, LTC in/out, inbuilt UPS.
• MQ500M+ Stadium: 400 universes, 15 motorised fader and 15 encoder playbacks, dual 15-inch touchscreens, four Gigabit network ports, LTC in/out, inbuilt UPS.
• QuickQ: the simplified range, including the QuickQ 10, QuickQ 20, QuickQ 30 and QuickQ Rack for installs. ChamSys says QuickQ shows can be loaded onto any MagicQ system.

Avolites Titan

• D3-010: 8 universes, 10 playback faders, four DMX outputs, an SMPTE LTC port, two network ports. Built to drive an external screen (up to 4K, USB-C or DisplayPort).
• D3-110: 24 universes, 10 playback faders, built-in 12.1-inch multi-touch screen, four DMX outputs, two etherCON ports, an SMPTE LTC port.
• Quartz: 16 universes from the console, expandable to 64 with a TitanNet Processor, 10 playback faders, 12.1-inch touchscreen, MIDI input, and a USB port for a Titan Mobile Wing.
• Tiger Touch II: four DMX outputs and up to 16 universes over Art-Net or sACN (64 with TitanNet Processors), 10 main playback faders plus 10 preset faders, 15.6-inch touchscreen, MIDI and timecode triggering, integrated UPS.
• Arena: 16 universes (expandable), 40 playback faders, 15.6-inch and 7-inch touchscreens, eight DMX outputs, built-in four-port Gigabit switch, opticalCON stage link, UPS.
• Sapphire Touch: 45 motorised faders, two 15.6-inch touchscreens, eight DMX outputs, UPS.
• Diamond 7 (our D7-215 bundle and D7-330 bundle): the D7-215 has two touchscreens, 15 motorised faders and four DMX outputs; the D7-330 three screens, 30 faders and eight DMX outputs. LTC and MIDI on both.
• Diamond 9 (our D9-215 and D9-330 bundles): the flagship. Avolites lists eight DMX outputs, an internal Luminex switch and a 10Gb quad opticalCON; the D9-330 has three main touchscreens, the D9-215 two and fewer faders.

Comparable tiers, side by side

This is a rough grouping by role and size, to help you find your way around the two ranges. It is not a claim that products in the same row are equivalent: they differ in faders, screens, connections and how universes are counted. Universe figures are each maker’s own; see the next section for why they are not directly comparable.

How each maker counts universes

A universe is 512 DMX channels; our DMX explained guide covers the basics. The two makers present their figures differently, so do not read them as like for like.

• ChamSys quotes a universe count per product. Some consoles can be expanded beyond it (MQ70 to 48, MQ250M to 128). The software’s ceiling is 400 universes, which the MQ500M+ has as standard. On a PC, MagicQ also lets you pre-visualise up to 400 universes, but only 64 are for real output.
• Avolites publishes two figures per device in its manual: a system limit (the most universes the desk can control) and an onboard processing limit (what it can calculate itself). For Quartz, Tiger Touch II, Arena, Sapphire and Titan Mobile, those are 64 and 16; for D7 and D9, 64 and 32; D3-010, D3-110 and T3 have fixed limits of 8, 24 and 16, with T3 licensable to 64. Universes above the onboard limit are processed by TitanNet Processors (TNP) on the network. Avolites notes that a TNP adds processing but does not raise the system limit.

In practice, count the universes your rig uses today, add room to grow, and check that figure against the product’s own number. With Avolites, check whether you are inside the onboard limit or will need TNP hardware too.

Networking, nodes and timecode

Both ecosystems speak the open lighting protocols, so either drives any brand of Art-Net or sACN node and any DMX fixture.

• ChamSys: MagicQ outputs Art-Net, sACN and Pathport. ChamSys lists RDM support on the DMX outputs of the MQ50, MQ70, Mini Connect and Compact Connect. ChamSys also makes its own GeNetix nodes, some of which unlock MagicQ PC under conditions set out in the manual.
• Avolites: Titan outputs Art-Net and sACN, and the D3 consoles also list Art-RDM, CITP and TitanNet multi-console sessions. Arena, Diamond 7 and Diamond 9 have a built-in network switch, Arena and Diamond 9 also have an opticalCON connection, and TitanNet Processors add processing for extra universes.
• Timecode: on ChamSys, LTC in is on the MQ70 and up, and LTC in/out on the Stadium consoles and Stadium Connect; timecode on MagicQ PC needs the Unlocked level. On Avolites, T2, T2+ and T3 have an LTC or audio/LTC input, the D3 consoles an SMPTE LTC port and the Diamond 7 an LTC input; Avolites says Tiger Touch II triggers from MIDI and timecode.

Visualisers

Both let you build and look at a show before you reach the venue.

• ChamSys: MagicVis is free and integrated with MagicQ. With MagicQ PC you can pre-programme up to 400 universes for visualisation. When universes 65 to 400 are sent to an external visualiser, ChamSys deliberately puts occasional breaks in the DMX so they cannot run a real rig.
• Avolites: Titan has a built-in 3D visualiser “powered by the Capture engine”, added in version 10, and the manual covers linking a console to stand-alone Capture. Avolites notes the visualiser needs capable graphics with up-to-date drivers.

Training and support

Here is what each maker says it offers. Check current dates and prices with them directly.

ChamSys also runs an education programme for universities, with an online learning system. As a buyer you also have us: we sell both ranges and can talk through either.

Which to learn and buy into

• You are learning and own a Mac: MagicQ, because it runs natively and is free. Titan needs a Windows PC.
• You want to run small shows from a laptop for the least outlay: MagicQ PC plus a node gives 64 universes; a Mini Connect adds faders and a DMX port. On Titan, the entry points are an Editor AvoKey with Titan Go (one universe over Art-Net or sACN) or a T1 or T1+ (with a DMX port).
• You freelance: learn what the venues and hire companies near you have. Both have free entry-level training.
• A school, church or volunteer team: compare a QuickQ with a compact Titan desk such as the D3-010 or Quartz. See our first lighting rig guide for what to buy alongside it.
• A venue booth with a moving-light rig: line up MQ70 or MQ250M against Quartz, D3-110 or Tiger Touch II on universes, faders, screens and whether there is a UPS.
• Touring or large shows: MQ500M+ against Diamond 7 or Diamond 9. On Titan, plan for TitanNet Processors above 32 universes.

Popular picks from the shop

Frequently asked questions

Is ChamSys or Avolites better?

Neither is better. Both are complete professional systems with a laptop entry point and a path up to flagship consoles. The practical differences are platform (MagicQ runs on Windows, macOS and Linux; Titan PC Suite on Windows), what you can do without hardware, how universes are counted, and which system the people you work with use.

Is MagicQ really free?

Yes. ChamSys says MagicQ PC is free on Windows, Mac and Linux, with 64 universes of Art-Net/sACN output fully enabled. ChamSys hardware unlocks extra features such as timecode, MIDI and OSC control and multi-programming, but programming and playback are not restricted.

Do I need an AvoKey to use Titan on a PC?

To run Titan Simulator, Avolites says you need Avolites hardware connected: an Editor AvoKey, T1, T2, T3 or Mobile. Simulator outputs all universes but sends periodic random values as a spoiler. For spoiler-free output, an Editor AvoKey gives one universe with Titan Go, and the T1, T2 and T3 give one, two and up to 16 universes.

Can I learn both?

Yes. Both work with the same core ideas: patching, palettes, cue lists, playbacks and effects. The syntax and layout differ, so expect some relearning, but starting with one and adding the other later is a perfectly sensible route.

How many universes do I actually need?

Add up the DMX footprint of every fixture and divide by 512, then allow room to grow. Our DMX explained guide shows how. Compare that against the maker’s figure, and on Avolites check the onboard limit as well as the system limit.

Can ChamSys or Avolites control any brand of lighting?

Yes. Both output standard DMX, Art-Net and sACN, so they can control DMX fixtures from any brand as long as there is a fixture profile for it. ChamSys updates its head library online daily and takes requests for missing heads; Avolites publishes its Titan personality library for download.